


summertime

by pepperedfox



Category: Kagerou Project
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:23:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperedfox/pseuds/pepperedfox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takane receives an unexpected visitor. Post Summertime Record Harutaka.</p>
            </blockquote>





	summertime

Summer, thick on the skin like lotion, sent sweat trickling down Takane's neck. Her apartment's AC had broken long ago and the miniature fan gave no relief despite its valiant buzzing. It'd been the second day since the heat had settled in and, to her irritation, it only promised to worsen. Her work stayed unfinished on her desk as she sprawled out on the floor, fingers slipping against the handheld's buttons. Shintaro had texted her earlier but she chose to ignore him. He could afford to wait however long she wanted him to wait.  
  
What weighed heavier on her mind was what had happened yesterday. It'd been difficult, rebuilding the life she was whisked away from for two years. When she came home her grandmother refused to let her go for an entire hour, feeling about her face, gripping her shoulders with tearful eyes to make sure that the girl in front of her really had been her granddaughter. It'd been difficult to convince her that she needed to move away to get some space. Without her illness, she was nothing more than an ordinary student who stayed up too late to play games.  
  
Well, almost.  
  
She'd admit that she abused her powers a little more than she should. Discounts for online orders, a little fudging of records here and there. None of it was traceable back to her and she never did something as criminal as steal money. Spending those two years in cyberspace had been difficult. But it would be a lie to say that she didn't miss the thrill of zipping through the datastreams with everything buzzing beneath her fingers.  
  
It'd been that text that started it. A number she wasn't familiar with, a message only a word long that worried her:  
  
 _Ene?_  
  
Takane didn't tell Shintaro. She didn't tell Ayano. When she tried to trace it by slipping into the network she was only greeted with an error message. The sender hadn't sent any more texts after that, save for one more in the morning:  
  
 _Sorry, it's Takane, right?_  
  
To tell the truth, those two texts sounded like something out of a horror movie. It put her in a bad mood. She had her fair share of mysteries, two whole years worth of it, and she didn't want any more to add to her pile. She was through dealing with snakes and alternate worlds and whatever it was they had gone through. As _un_ ordinary as she had become, ordinary was what she wanted to strive towards now.  
  
She couldn't even bother to pretend to be scared. If anything reading them made hope stir that she didn't want. When they came back everyone was there to greet each other with bright smiles. The only one who'd been missing, the one who greeted her every morning for so long with a calm 'good morning...'  
  
"I don't want to think about it," she said, letting out a long sigh. Takane hit the pause button, rolled over, and reached for her phone.  
  
Shintaro had called her, much to her amusement. Whatever he wanted must've been mildly concerning. As her finger hovered over 'call' another message popped up.

>   
> **From:** Shintaro  
>  **Subject:** \---  
>  outside right now...  
> answer your messages ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ

 

Ten seconds later, she popped up in Shintaro's phone. He was preparing to make another call and her appearance made him yelp. "Hey! What's the big deal here? You should give someone a warning before dropping by unannounced."

"I _did_ that," Shintaro snapped. He rubbed the back of his neck with a scowl. "You never got back to me but I figured that you were probably still home. I can't see a girl like you having an active social life."

"If I picked up any NEETish habits it would've been from being locked up in the same room with you for two years."

"I didn't come here to hear that!"

"Sorry, Master doesn't like me reminding him, huh?"

"Has she called back yet, Shintaro?"

A new voice cut in, soft and cautious. If Takane hadn't known any better she could've sworn that she knew it. That voice had been the one she chose to chase after was long gone, for reasons nobody could explain. Everyone had come back, save for him. It was unfair but she had accepted it. All that was left if she turned around was regret and she spent years fighting against that very emotion both inside and outside.

His hair was gray, as though he had aged years. The strange mole that donned his face as Konoha was still there, all color drained from it. But those eyes were the same. That smile was the same.

"Takane?" said Haruka.

Shintaro's phone went dark.

She sat on the floor of her apartment in her body, heart beating so loud that she wondered if the two downstairs could hear. Her feet didn't work quite right, her legs wobbled as she slammed open the door, but she made herself move. Haruka was already halfway up the stairs when she threw herself at him. He squealed even as his arms shot out, catching her. It was a dangerous position and she could feel him wobbling beneath her weight. All that did was make her cling tighter.

"It took you long enough!"

"I'm sorry. I got lost on the way from the labs. Shintaro had to come and help me."

"Figures," Takane said. "You didn't have it all together up there most of the time."

"I did my best! I wanted to see you again. That's all I thought, so I..."

She closed her eyes, feeling dampness trace the curve of her smile.

"No wonder you got lost."

It was too hot to be this close to him. With her head pressed against his chest she could hear how his breath rattled, hear the rapid pulse that rested in it. He was solid and here and her arms were around him, just like his were around her. If she let go, it might prove to be a hazy summer illusion like the one she saw last year. His hand rested on her head, his voice as cool and sweet as a breeze to her overflowing heart.  


"Thank you for waiting for me."


End file.
